Youth Engagement Specialist

Covenant House California (CHC) is a nonprofit organization that provides sanctuary and support youth overcoming homelessness, ages 18-24. CHC believes that no young person deserves to be homeless; that every young person in California deserves housing, food, clothing, education, and most importantly, to be loved. CHC provides a full continuum of services to meet the physical, emotional, educational, vocational, and spiritual well-being of young people.

CHC’s doors are open to youth and staff regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. We believe that youth and team members deserve to be in an environment that is inclusive and affirming; where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and valued and appreciated for who they are. Maintaining a diverse community of youth and staff is key to our ability to achieve our mission most effectively.

We are also committed to being a leader in advancing anti-racism, and to promoting opportunities for the free expression of the lived experiences of our youth and staff.

We are looking for people who, like us, believe that every young person deserves a place to belong. We think it takes all kinds of people to create diverse solutions to end youth homelessness and we are on a committed journey to build an inclusive and equitable work culture that brings out the best in everyone. In our Oakland location, which has been operating since 2005, we offer a full continuum of housing and support services to young people.

Our program is continuing to grow and will be adding 20 new beds for young people over the next year.

As this position provides direct care to young people that are 18-24 years old, we require that applicants are at least 25 years old.

Covenant House California offers an excellent benefits package, (most benefits effective date of hire), including medical, vision, dental, an EAP program, 403b retirement account, and a generous vacation package.

Youth Engagement Specialists (YES) are an essential and core position on our multidisciplinary team. All CHC staff work together to facilitate safety and comprehensive programming for youth in our crisis shelter and transitional living program. YES’s facilitate day to day operations and duties by adhering to our Mission Statement, Five Principals, Code of Conduct and the policies and procedures of Covenant House.

Youth Engagement Specialists provide essential supervision and support including: triage of door and phones, assessing safety, preventing and managing crises, upholding programmatic policy and procedure, documentation, light cleaning and building maintenance, as well as being a positive adult role model that relentlessly engages with our youth. Must want to work in a diverse and inclusive environment.

Youth Engagement Specialists who work overnight shifts must remain awake and staff must complete overnight checklist to ensure facility is prepared for next day.